The present invention relates in general to an electronic game of the non-video type, and pertains, more particularly, to an electronic strategy game involving exploration, pursuit and battle in interplanatary space. The electronic game of this invention employs a microcomputer.
The game of this invention is a privileged information game that may be played by two to four players and also includes a special self-play mode for one player to enable this player to challenge the game's computer. There are three levels of play, namely basic, intermediate, and advanced, thus, providing a game that can be played by people of many different ages ranging from a game with little or no strategy to a fairly sophisticated stragetic game. The players interact with the game and each other through an LED display, a keyboard, and sound effects generated by the unit. In the privileged information aspect of the game this means that each player will have his own secret display which is only displayed during his turn. Among the features of this game is that each player is automatically cued when it is his turn and is also automatically dropped out of the game when his energy has been expended. The keyboard locks out all but the acceptable inputs at each stage of play. There are preferably ten different sound effects that are used in association with a dynamic LED display read-out.
In playing the game, each player is the commander of a starship who has been assigned to secure a new galaxy for a base of operations. Each starship starts out with the same number of energy units (fuel). The players then engage in various energy consuming maneuvers, battles and intelligence (information gathering) operations in an effort to "neutralize" their opponents. A player is neutralized when his or her energy supply has been depleted. The winning player will be the only remaining player whose starship has energy.
Each player interacts with the game through a command console which includes a keyboard and a computer display read-out. The read-out in the disclosed embodiment has a display screen comprised of a four-by-four LED array, a numeric energy read-out and several status indicators. During game play, the hand-held command console is passed from player to player. Prior to passing the unit to the next player, the current player turns the display area off so that no privileged information is passed to the next opponent.
The basic, intermediate and advanced levels of play allow the game to accommodate a wide range of player capabilities while providing an interesting and challenging game with respect to the players' capabilities. The levels are upward compatible. Each advance in level simply adds more player options while maintaining all the play features of the lower level. Hence, what was learned at one level can be applied when moving up to another level and learning to play the more advanced versions can take place in a progressive, fun-filled, step-by-step fashion. The game length is keyed to the level through the initial setting of the energies. Thus, for the basic level, which is aimed at the younger player, the play is relatively quick while for the advanced level the play is somewhat longer to allow for more serious strategic play.
The heart of the game of this invention is a microcomputer which may be the Texas Instruments TMS 1100 microcomputer. The keyboard that is used is electronically organized in a matrix configuration and is scanned by the microcomputer to detect a key depression. In the preferred embodiment the display is a four-by-four LED array with at least two additional status indicators and a two-digit, seven-segment LED numeric display which registers the energy remaining for the particular player.